Ken Burns-Siddhartha Mukherjee documentary on 'The Gene' airs tonight

Tonight, PBS stations around the country will begin airing a new documentary called "The Gene: An Intimate History," based on Siddhartha Mukherjee's book of the same name and directed by filmmaker Ken Burns. Much like its namesake, which was published in 2016, the documentary will cover the history of genetics research going all the way back to Gregor Mendel and his experiments to understand inheritance to modern-day genetics research including CRISPR. Siddhartha Mukherjee appeared on the most recent episode of STAT's "Readout LOUD" podcast and discussed the rise of consumer genetics and the ethical considerations of gene editing, which are topics the film also delves into. The four-hour film will be aired on two separate nights — tonight and next Tuesday. Check your local listings here.